Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit prepare to search the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by activists from Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit...

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Emmi of the group Homes Not Jails stands our on the fire escape at 1030 Geary St. after the homeless activists accompanied by members of Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Kamayah Riley, 5, rests atop her father Manuel Riley's shoulders as he they participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Protestors came to rally against the influence of corporate money in politics among a host of other issues, and in sympathy with the Occupy Wall Street protest. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Protestors came to rally against the influence of corporate money in politics among a host of other issues, and in sympathy with the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Photo: Ben Margot, AP

Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10,...

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Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Protestors came to rally against the influence of corporate money in politics among a host of other issues, and in sympathy with the Occupy Wall Street protest. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Photo: Ben Margot, AP

Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10,...

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Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Having started in New York, Occupy Wall Streets demonstrations now take place all across the United States, as protesters speak out against corporate greed and the gap between the rich and the poor. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Photo: Ben Margot, AP

Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10,...

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Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, in Oakland, Calif. Protestors rallied against the influence of corporate money and a host of other issues. Having started in New York, Occupy Wall Street demonstrations now take place all across the United States, as protesters speak out against corporate greed and the gap between the rich and the poor. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Photo: Ben Margot, AP

Protestors participate in an Occupy Oakland rally Monday, Oct. 10,...

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Alex Nguyen of Occupy SF offers Kerry Harris, 56, some water as the group of approximately thirty people gather at City Hall Plaza to march the streets and to occupy vacant building, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. They are protesting that the vacant buildings should be used for housing the homeless.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Alex Nguyen of Occupy SF offers Kerry Harris, 56, some water as...

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Activist Matt Crain rolls himself a cigarette while waiting to march with the group of homeless and supporters from City Hall Plaza vacant buildings to occupy, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. They are protesting the waste of vacant buildings that could be used for housing the homeless.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Activist Matt Crain rolls himself a cigarette while waiting to...

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Approximately thirty people homeless activists gather at City Hall Plaza and then march the streets to the Cathedral Hotel to occupy, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. They are protesting the waste of vacant buildings that could be used for housing the homeless.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Approximately thirty people homeless activists gather at City Hall...

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Jeremy Miller, one of the organizers of Homes Not Jail gets ready to address the group to protest of homeless activists at City Hall Plaza, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. " The landlords in San Francisco are criminally responsible for the people who die out here,"says Miller.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Jeremy Miller, one of the organizers of Homes Not Jail gets ready...

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Activist go to the roof of the Cathedral Hotel to occupy, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. Approximately thirty people homeless activists gathered at City Hall Plaza and then march the streets to the Cathedral Hotel to occupy to protest the waste of vacant buildings that could be used for housing the homeless.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Activist go to the roof of the Cathedral Hotel to occupy, Monday...

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Kerry Harris, 56, who has low blood sugar folds over in his wheelchair after getting sick of lack of food, while approximately thirty homeless activists gather at City Hall Plaza to march and occupy a vacant building as they declare in World Homeless Action Day, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Kerry Harris, 56, who has low blood sugar folds over in his...

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People of all ages march the streets to the Cathedral Hotel to occupy, Monday October 10, 2011, in San Francisco, Calif. They are protesting the waste of vacant buildings that could be used for housing the homeless.
Ran on: 10-11-2011
Protesters march to the vacant Cathedral Hill Hotel in S.F. over lack of housing for the homeless.
Ran on: 10-11-2011
Protesters march to the vacant Cathedral Hill Hotel in S.F. over lack of housing for the homeless.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

People of all ages march the streets to the Cathedral Hotel to...

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Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit prepare to search the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by activists from Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit...

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Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit prepare to search the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by activists from Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit...

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Members of the San Francisco Police Department wait for the tactical unit to arrive at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by activists from Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Members of the San Francisco Police Department wait for the...

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Evan of the group Homes Not Jails stands in the doorway at 1030 Geary St. after the homeless activists accompanied by members of Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Evan of the group Homes Not Jails stands in the doorway at 1030...

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Building Inspector Keith Mather posts a notice of violation on the building at 1100 Van Ness Ave. after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by members of Occupy SF entered other nearby propteries as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

Building Inspector Keith Mather posts a notice of violation on the...

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A banner lies on the driveway of the Cathedral Hill Hotel after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by members of Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

A banner lies on the driveway of the Cathedral Hill Hotel after the...

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The Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. was entered by the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by members of Occupy SF as part of World Homeless Action Day.

Photo: Mathew Sumner, Special To The Chronicle

The Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. was entered by the group...

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Members of the San Francisco Police Department Tactical Unit prepare to search the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness Ave. after the group Homes Not Jails accompanied by activists from Occupy SF entered the building as part of World Homeless Action Day.

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco police searched two vacant hotels Tuesday, taking a battering ram to the front door of one, but found that activists for the homeless who occupied the buildings overnight had vanished.

About 30 officers first went through the old Cathedral Hill Hotel at Van Ness Avenue and Geary Street, a onetime landmark that has been shuttered since October 2009. After spending most of the afternoon searching 600 rooms on eight floors, police found that the activists with Homes Not Jails had left earlier.

The activists had occupied the Cathedral Hill and another vacant hotel owned by California Pacific Medical Center, Charlie's Hotel at 1030 Geary, to make their point that the buildings could be used by homeless people. California Pacific plans to demolish both, building a hospital on the Cathedral Hill site and an office building on the site of Charlie's Hotel.

Police, who had been monitoring the situation at both hotels, began to gather in large numbers outside the Cathedral Hill at about 11 a.m., even though they were pretty sure the protesters had left. Repairmen were escorted inside to turn on the elevators by officers wielding rifles that shoot nonlethal beanbags.

At about 1 p.m., a tactical squad of 30 officers entered the Cathedral Hill to begin their room-by-room search. They emerged three hours later, convinced that nobody was hiding inside.

Police took a battering ram to the front door and yelled orders inside, as officers with beanbag rifles trained them on the windows from the middle of Geary, which was closed to traffic.

By the time police entered the building, however, the activists had left.

"We attempted to make contact with them earlier in the day," Officer Carlos Manfredi said. "But they refused to talk with us."

Officials from California Pacific Medical Center had asked police to arrest the activists for trespassing, said police Capt. Ann Mannix. Officials with the medical center did not return calls seeking comment.

Manfredi said police were not disappointed to find the protesters gone.

"We like to give protesters every opportunity to leave," he said. "We deal with protesters and demonstrators quite often. It's easier to work with them than against them."

The protest was one of two centered around anger over economic inequality. In Oakland, dozens of activists allied with the Occupy movement spent their second day camped in a plaza in front of City Hall.

About 50 tents were set up in Frank Ogawa Plaza, but many were empty as people came and went from the encampment. Organizers said they were trying to pull together child care as well as classes in yoga, juggling and other activities.

There was no visible police presence. Sue Piper, spokeswoman for Mayor Jean Quan, said there were no plans to dismantle the camp and that officials were "keeping it cool."